Build a PC for Rome 2 / Hardware Recommendations and Advice Thread

[Duffeldof]

Let's keep you guys busy.

Could you build me computer from some site that ships to Finland (or you can just point components and I can from Finnish forums where I could get those and assembly).

I would aim for maximum TW performance.

After reading this topic I have been thinking atleast these:

Dual core (overclockable, also is OC possible to do safely for tech noob?)
4GB RAM
120GB SSD (or bigger If you recommend, how much there is space left after W8 & R2?)

[SamueleD]

Let's keep you guys busy.

Could you build me computer from some site that ships to Finland (or you can just point components and I can from Finnish forums where I could get those and assembly).

I would aim for maximum TW performance.

After reading this topic I have been thinking atleast these:

Dual core (overclockable, also is OC possible to do safely for tech noob?)
4GB RAM
120GB SSD (or bigger If you recommend, how much there is space left after W8 & R2?)

I don't know of any recent dual core that is overclockable, and yes, if you do your research and homework OC is possible even for n00bs.
If you find out what is usually the price for PC parts in Finland compared to US (not the exchange rate, just how much more they cost) you can just pick a build from the OP.

[Duffeldof]

I don't know of any recent dual core that is overclockable, and yes, if you do your research and homework OC is possible even for n00bs.
If you find out what is usually the price for PC parts in Finland compared to US (not the exchange rate, just how much more they cost) you can just pick a build from the OP.

Well usual rule of thumb is that in Finland it costs the same that in US just in euros. So 600$ build in Finland would be about 600€.

[SamueleD]

Well usual rule of thumb is that in Finland it costs the same that in US just in euros. So 600$ build in Finland would be about 600€.

Damn, that's pricy, go look for a build that's in you budget then.
Edit: If you can find the components on a Finnish hardware store you should be able to get cheaper shipment cost, here in Switzerland there is a website called toppreise.ch that compares the prices of most Swiss online stores for many things, try to google for something similar in Finland, or just a good hardware store.

[Duffeldof]

Damn, that's pricy, go look for a build that's in you budget then.

Higher taxes, work is more expensive and smaller country. I think biggest Finnish tech shops etc. would be ridiculously small shops in US Bigger companies can offer better prices.
High prices in Finland is one reason I'm interested in to ordering from somewhere else in EU.

[SamueleD]

Higher taxes, work is more expensive and smaller country. I think biggest Finnish tech shops etc. would be ridiculously small shops in US Bigger companies can offer better prices.
High prices in Finland is one reason I'm interested in to ordering from somewhere else in EU.

I don't know much about EU hardware stores, I only once used a French one because I could not find the CPU cooler I wanted here in Switzerland, and it would have been somewhat cheaper, if not for the toll, but that's not a problem for you.
Maybe someone else can help you find a good EU store, alQamar, maybe, he's German.

[Killerbee]

I'm not a graphics buff, so low-medium but smooth playing is good for me. Are these specs enough ?

CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 @ 2.33GHz
GPU - ATI Radeon HD 3850
RAM - 4096MB

[KingCrr]

What is the difference between i5-4670 vs i5-4430? It seems like the 4670 is just clocked a little higher? Would that difference be a major improvement in game play? It is a $45 savings for the 4430.

[SamueleD]

What is the difference between i5-4670 vs i5-4430? It seems like the 4670 is just clocked a little higher? Would that difference be a major improvement in game play? It is a $45 savings for the 4430.

400MHz (600MHz in turbo) can make quite a difference in a CPU bottlenecked game as TW, if you can afford it pick the fastest one, since you can't OC the i5-4430.

[KingCrr]

400MHz (600MHz in turbo) can make quite a difference in a CPU bottlenecked game as TW, if you can afford it pick the fastest one, since you can't OC the i5-4430.

Thank you.

[babydoc]

Anyone here with TV knowledge?

I recently hooked up my PC with a 55" LED TV Samsung.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-UE55.../dp/B007JURJDK
Everything is sweet on all ultra when playing total war games.

My wife is tired of me cos she wants to watch TV from time to time.
I aint going back to my PC-monitor, hell no!

What should I look for when deciding on a LED TV? 55" minimum and 1080 is a must.
Are there higher res TVs?
Is there a way to play on dual TVs?, maybe have the new strategy map on one TV and the game on the other or just double the size?
I know that you can have dual monitors but TVs?

[SamueleD]

Anyone here with TV knowledge?

I recently hooked up my PC with a 55" LED TV Samsung.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-UE55.../dp/B007JURJDK
Everything is sweet on all ultra when playing total war games.

My wife is tired of me cos she wants to watch TV from time to time.
I aint going back to my PC-monitor, hell no!

What should I look for when deciding on a LED TV? 55" minimum and 1080 is a must.
Are there higher res TVs?
Is there a way to play on dual TVs?, maybe have the new strategy map on one TV and the game on the other or just double the size?
I know that you can have dual monitors but TVs?

The dimensions of the TV do not matter for performance a 20" @1080p requires the same GPU power as a 55" TV @1080p, the resolution is what matters.
I the TV you want to buy is just for playing games, then the criteria are the same as for monitors.
There are higher res TVs out there, but I don't know how GPUs handle them and you would need a lot of GPU horsepower for them anyway.
You can use dual TV, in the same way as you can use two or more monitors, the only problem is: you need a lot of GPU power to do it.

A TV is nothing special, it's just a big 1080p monitor, with some hardware thrown in the mix to allow you to watch TV channels and sometimes with speakers integrated.

In multi-monitor setups you usually either have the game in one screen and desktop with other things or movies in the other, or the game in all the screens, running at very high resolutions.

[babydoc]

answer

Thanks!
So basically A TV is almost like a monitor....

If Im happy about the TV Im using now its safe to say that I can buy another one and it will be all good?
I mean if there is a certain feature that is better for gaming then I would buy that TV instead.

I know that response times are bad and really hard to get info about it for TVs but all the games and most importantly TW games are great on the TV Im using now.

[SamueleD]

Thanks!
So basically A TV is almost like a monitor....

If Im happy about the TV Im using now its safe to say that I can buy another one and it will be all good?
I mean if there is a certain feature that is better for gaming then I would buy that TV instead.

I know that response times are bad and really hard to get info about it for TVs but all the games and most importantly TW games are great on the TV Im using now.

Yeah, if you are satisfied with the model you were using I see no reason to pick another one, unless you are looking for something cheaper.

[babydoc]

Yeah, if you are satisfied with the model you were using I see no reason to pick another one, unless you are looking for something cheaper.

Actually she got a Soundbar and a subwoofer for free with that TV.
The Soundbar is bluetooth, no cables, wich is convenient.

Thanks for clearing things up.

[Metallistic]

and yet 13% slower than a non overclocked 4770K :=)
respective 8% slower than a non overclocked 3770K
and least 3% slower than a non overclocked 2600K (my current CPU "grandpa")

Aye, as I have already mentioned in a previous post of mine, AMD's CPU architecture is severely lacking. The lack of innovations have resulted in sub par performance, higher TDP (as well as temperatures naturally) thus hitting overclocking limits a lot easier. The only thing AMD are pushing are the number of cores, higher clock speeds and lower prices. Hopefully they have more to offer in the future as it is evident that Intel are totally comfortable with cutting corners.

An example of this would be the significant rise in temperatures between the 2nd and 3rd generation of Intel's CPUs. It was due to the lower quality of thermal paste applied between the CPU chip and its heatsink. Not only were temperatures generally higher, but some users experienced severe differences between temperatures of the individual CPU cores.

I seem to be lucky with my Ivy chip, as there are no dramatic differences in core temperatures. But I still consider the CPU to be hotter than usual when I take into account the fact that I have it running @4.2GHz 1.12v and it can still hit like 75C during prime 95 and/or Intel Burn Test. I guess it can also be attributed to the hot summer, but still.

Have not done as much research on Haswell though. Splenyi can perhaps share some experience of his own?

[alQamar]

Hopefully he can Metallistic and thanks for this detailed posting. What I do not understand is why I seem to be so lucky with my OC as my gf ivy runs cool and with 4.5 GHz so same to my sandy both without any voltage changing. Reasons? Does the geographical location (e.g.electromagnetism or altitude)or the better power lines making differences? Really curious.

[alQamar]

I don't know much about EU hardware stores, I only once used a French one because I could not find the CPU cooler I wanted here in Switzerland, and it would have been somewhat cheaper, if not for the toll, but that's not a problem for you.
Maybe someone else can help you find a good EU store, alQamar, maybe, he's German.

You can bet on that. I would be glad to help him. Please pm me to clear details.

[alQamar]

All response times are well around 5ms go for samsung definitely. What budget do you acclaim and what possible size?

[Metallistic]

Hopefully he can Metallistic and thanks for this detailed posting. What I do not understand is why I seem to be so lucky with my OC as my gf ivy runs cool and with 4.5 GHz so same to my sandy both without any voltage changing. Reasons? Does the geographical location (e.g.electromagnetism or altitude)or the better power lines making differences? Really curious.

No definitive answer, maybe just a really good chip and/or good even spread of the thermal paste between the CPU and its heatsink. You would be surprised how bad it was for some of the users and how far they went to fix the issue.

Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXs0I5kuoX4

His results using Pime95 at 27C ambient temperature:
Temperatures before fix: 98 86 68 65
Temperatures after fix: 58 59 59 60

Something was really funky with Intel's manufacturing process as far as I can tell.